Tennessee Lawmakers Withdraw Support for Ticketing Bill

Impact of ‘Fairness in Ticketing Act’ on Fans,
Businesses Drive Co-Sponsors To Pull Support

February 27, 2013 01:28 PM Eastern Time

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Four Tennessee legislators who agreed to sponsor a wide-reaching bill
pushed by ticket issuers, venues, sports teams and artists have asked to
have their names removed from the measure after finding the bill erodes
ownership rights and free-market enterprise.

“I think many of us signed on as sponsors before realizing what it could
do to citizens’ ownership rights or its negative impact on small
business. In my case, I have not only decided to be removed as a
sponsor, but to become a vocal opponent.”

“It does not surprise me at all that some co-sponsors are peeling off
the Fairness in Ticketing Act bill,” said Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet.
“I think many of us signed on as sponsors before realizing what it could
do to citizens’ ownership rights or its negative impact on small
business. In my case, I have not only decided to be removed as a
sponsor, but to become a vocal opponent.”

Also asking to have their names removed from the Ticketmaster-backed
Fairness in Ticketing Act were Rep. Bill Sanderson, R-Kenton, Rep. Jim
Coley, R-Bartlett, and Rep. David Hawk, R-Greeneville.

A
recent investigative report from a Nashville-based TV news outlet
revealed that only 1,001 of approximately 14,000 tickets were offered to
the general public for a Justin Bieber concert at Bridgestone Arena, a
practice that is known in the industry as ticket holdbacks. Rep. Charles
Sargent, R-Franklin, and other lawmakers are seeking an amendment that
would require ticket issuers to announce the number of tickets that will
be available to the general public when they go on sale.

“We are working on amendments that would keep the consumer-protection
provisions for the secondary ticket market intact, but that would also
ensure equal transparency in the primary ticketing market and preserve
consumers’ right to transfer tickets,” said Rep. Sargent.

The bill is opposed in Tennessee by Fan
Freedom, an organization of more than 5,500 Tennessee members,
including supporters from each of 99 House districts and 33 Senate
districts. Fan Freedom’s position is also supported by nonprofits and
small businesses that rely on the transferability of live-event tickets,
and has equal support from consumer advocacy organizations, property
rights groups and free-market activists.

These groups believe that the proposed legislation is aimed at aiding
Ticketmaster in gaining even more control over the ticketing market
through the use of restricted tickets, which are nontransferable or only
transferable through the ticket issuer’s resale website.

“As lawmakers have begun to review this bill, they are starting to
realize the anti-consumer, pro-monopoly provisions that Ticketmaster and
its allies are pushing for,” said Chris Grimm, communications director
of Fan Freedom. “That includes a provision that would give legislative
approval for ticket issuers, teams and artists to use restricted
ticketing, which eliminates fans’ ability to give away or sell our
tickets.”

Fan Freedom does support many of the provisions in the bill that would
provide consumers with more protection when purchasing tickets from a
ticket resale site, but stands firm against any provisions that give
Ticketmaster, venues, teams and artists more control of tickets for
which fans have purchased.

About Fan Freedom

Launched in February 2011, the Fan Freedom is supported by more than
100,000 live-event fans, including more than 5,500 Tennesseans, and is
backed by leading consumer and business organizations such as the
American Conservative Union, National Consumers League, Consumer Action,
the Institute for Liberty, the League of Fans, the Computer and
Communications Industry Association, and Net Choice.